Howard concerned about Perth Airport

[Quokka]

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=44781

...bugger the carpet, how about another runway instead???

[bushy]

When pollies and the general public talk about the "airport", they mean the terminal buiding.

[fallen]

So where are these faded carpets (which are about to fade more now that daylight saving has started), the peeling paint and the long queues? I wouldn't have thought the queues were anything to do with WAC, unless it's the queue to the toilet.

[BrazDriver]

I hear you Quokka! Need another piece of that magical landing carpet!

[Monopole]

The fact that Perth Airport has been voted the worst airport in Australia should be enough for the WAC to prick their ears up and listen.

The fact that drivers are parking in the emergency lane on the enterance road and that drivers are now punching out the parking security guards (latest Belmont community paper with photo) should indicate the parking problem at the airport. Wacs solution is to build more car parks, but these are stupid distances away from the terminal and there are no courtesy bus's.

Meanwhile, there are huge office buildings going up, massive warehouses, brickworks and land subdivisions all at a huge cost to the WAC. If the funding from these developments were to go back into the airport, I would understand, but my money will go on the fact that it will not benefit the aviation residence of the airport.

The WAC have announced that they will bring forward their plan to merge the Domestic and International terminals by 5 years. At least thats something, but not enough soon enough.

Airside congestion is another story all together.

[Stick Pusher]

pax figures at projected 2020 number now.

6 month until board meets. "won't happen over night..............."



love the red l.e.d welcome to perth sign at the MUDT taxi queue while pax queue all the way back to QF terminal! nice!

how long has the lego walkway been at the end of the fingerway?

very 3rd world.



on ya WAC

[David Eyre]

Very interesting article from The Australian last Friday:

Perth moves on terminal troubles
Steve Creedy | October 26, 2007

WESTRALIA Airports Corporation expects to make a decision on the future of its Perth terminals within six months.

Lashed by criticism about the shortcomings of the existing facility, WAC is looking closely at consolidating domestic and international operations at the site of the existing international terminal. It is also talking to airlines about a separate regional terminal at the site.

"I expect that within the next six months the board will have made a decision and the company will have made an announcement," WAC corporate affairs general manager Malcolm Bradshaw says. "We're certainly in the detailed stages of planning (as to) how much more capacity the existing domestic precinct can take." Bradshaw says planners are examining what sort of terminal configuration will be needed if the international site is moved. They are also looking at the effect of such a move on regional services and how a regional terminal would compliment the facility.

Meanwhile, Perth has become a victim of its own success. Not only is the passenger number growing but the rate of growth has increased. It has already reached the traffic levels predicted for 2020 in its master plan. More than 8 million people passed through the airport in 2006-07, up 13.4 per cent on the previous year.

A 15 per cent rise in domestic travel to 5.1 million passengers provided the biggest increase, but international travel also rose a solid 9.6 per cent to 2 million passengers. First-quarter figures, released last week, have confirmed the trend. More than 2.2 million passengers flew in and out of the Perth during the quarter, up 15 per cent on last year, with international figures up 22 per cent and domestic rising 13 per cent.

Nonetheless, locals are highly critical of the facility's failure to cope with the state's growth, particularly the congestion in its terminals and a chronic lack of parking. Some wonder whether airport management has paid too much attention to the industrial developments on the 2105ha site at the expense of its aviation operations.

Bradshaw says management acknowledges the airport is congested and that it needs to move quickly to alleviate the problem. But he notes that between 2002 and 2006-07, the airport experienced more than 80 per cent growth in domestic passenger traffic.

It is, Bradshaw says, a quantum change in the airport's growth patterns after a period of soft demand prior to 2002. "Obviously that sort of growth in such a short period places significant pressure on the existing infrastructure," he says. "From time to time, we're accused of not planning adequately for the current growth. But I would challenge anyone to justify a major investment decision in that environment that existed in 2001-02. "To be in a position now, to cope with the growth we've got, we would have had to have made huge investments at a time the market was declining. I expect that our shareholders just wouldn't have accepted that."

The airport has already moved to address the parking problems and plans to add around 6000 bays over the coming years, almost doubling the capacity. It is also adding new narrow and wide-body apron parking to better accommodate the 32 aircraft that park there overnight. Qantas has also announced a $50 million investment in its terminal to ease unpleasant congestion during peak periods. This will include expansion of the check-in area, installation of QuickCheck kiosks, new security screening, an expansion to the departure lounge and a desperately needed boost to its baggage systems.

WAC plans to complement this with what it describes as "significant upgrades" to smooth the flow of pedestrian and vehicle traffic to help ease congestion in front of the terminal.

However, there is recognition that something more needs to be done in the long term to fix the woes at Perth - particularly with further growth expected from low-cost carriers and from fly-in, fly-out operations for the resources sector.

The state's phenomenal resources boom has generated one of the more startling growth figures at Perth: a 47 per cent jump in general aviation movements for 2006-07. This came on top of a 45 per cent increase the year before which, according to Bradshaw, means 41 per cent of aircraft movements now account for about 7 per cent of passenger movements.

He notes that this "capacity-hungry" sector is creating pressure on the airfield, as many flights take off or land at the same time. It also means the airport is operating at close to full capacity in the early hours of the morning.

"The airport recognises the importance of the resources industry to this state, so we will support that sector in every way possible," he says. "We're supporting it through consideration of dedicated regional terminal that some of the larger general aviation operators can operate out of. And we're working with the resources sector on the sorts of facilities they would like in that terminal. For example, you could do safety inductions in that facility rather than do them on the mine site."

The good news for WAC investors is that management expects the growth to continue. WA Treasury estimates the gross state product will grow by 4.5-5 per cent annually over the next five years. "We would expect that our growth will at least match that and probably exceed that," Bradshaw says. "Also, bear in mind that Treasury are very conservative forecasters."
Details of how the airport will develop the international precinct, should it decide to consolidate the terminal, have yet to be revealed. But it is expected to extend the existing terminal according to its original horseshoe design. The project is expected to take at least seven years and is likely to face competition for labour from other major projects in the state as well as the usual fight for workers with the resources sector.

The airport is also talking to the WA Government about changing the road system around the airport to make access easier as well as the possibility of a rail link servicing the airport. The road plan could see Leach Highway extended over Tonkin Highway into the airport estate, linking it with another major logistics hub, Fremantle Port. The rail link would see a spur from Bayswater station on the Midland line that would be part of the metropolitan network.

All this would see significant change for Perth's aviation gateway.

In the meantime, Bradshaw is keen to address public perception of the airport, with research showing that nine out of 10 West Australians have direct contact with the facility. He says WAC cops a lot of flak on issues - such as the Qantas terminal and customs - over which it has no direct responsibility. But he sees no value in engaging in a blame game. He also points to a survey of Perth airport users that compares well with other airports.

"What that doesn't reflect, of course, is public opinion about the airport," he says. "And we're in the process at the moment of undertaking some market research on what people think about the airport ... and what they see are the major issues associated with the airport."


Regards,
David

[cunninglinguist]

"What that doesn't reflect, of course, is public opinion about the airport," he says. "And we're in the process at the moment of undertaking some market research on what people think about the airport ... and what they see are the major issues associated with the airport."

Yes Malcolm, it will be very interesting to hear what people say about waiting longer for a cab than the flight they just took, or looking for their car in your puzzle park maze of a car park ( and then trying to get out without a GPS ) or maybe they just like sitting in the plane on the Tarmac for 15-20 minutes because Perth airport was designed to take 10-15 C172s, interesting indeed.

( forgot to mention the 10-15 mins ATC tack onto the flight also, due to 2 RWs that cant be used at the same time )

[halas]

It's not only the delays for the punters....

In September we were told by ops here in Dubai not to land on-time or within 15 minutes prior to STA of 0055 in to Perth.

Reason: Customs couldn't handle MAS and SQ departures along with the EK arrival.

WTF :hmm:

So prior to a 10 hour flight we sat on the apron in Dubai for 15 minutes (Oddly enough we were well and truely ready to go early) before we could get going. Probably long before AQIS and ACS staff had even signed on for work.

How Odd.

Having arrived at STA +5, MAS had already gone and SQ were pushing back.

Who makes these calls? Would love to hear their reasoning.

Out of 90 odd destinations this mob go to around the globe, only one comes up with a feeble request like that.

Halas